UK - The £10.5bn (€15.6bn) HSBC Bank UK pension scheme has appointed Ashmore and AXA Investment Management in a portfolio revamp.

AXA Investment Management has been awarded a £550m sterling denominated fixed income mandate aimed at outperforming a non-gilt benchmark.

Ashmore will manage a $670m (€498m) multi-strategy emerging market mandate invested in emerging dollar debt, emerging local currency and local currency debt, emerging special situations and emerging equity.

Earlier this year, HSBC Bank's UK pension scheme, which is advised by Watson Wyatt, had announced a change in the asset allocation in order to "mitigate the risk of investments under-performing and the adverse effect of changes in long-term interest rates and inflation".

Other managers are believed to have been appointed in this portfolio overhaul but no confirmation could be obtained before deadline.

The bank also disclosed it will make a £600m contribution to its defined benefit scheme which was £1.8bn in deficit at the end of last year.

Furthermore, it will reduce the board of directors of the fund's trustee company HSBC Bank Pension Trust (UK) from 19 to 13, four of whom will be elected by employees and two by pensioners.

Elsewhere, the £1.1bn Northamptonshire County Council pension fund appointed Partners Group and Fauchier Partners as hedge fund managers.

For its first foray into that asset class, Northamptonshire allocated £56m to a fund of hedge funds mandate which both London-based mangers will share equally.

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